COMMUNITY RESPONSE NETWORK 101

About:

Community Response Network (CRN 101) is a simple course designed to give a student a basic understanding of disaster management and how government systems work in general.

Objective:

The objective of CRN 101 course is to educate and create awareness about various government systems involved in the mitigation of disaster management. It covers a brief introduction to various government systems and how these systems coordinate together at times of disasters.

What makes the Pupilfirst LMS special?

Pupilfirst LMS is an open-source project, built right here in India, by the Pupilfirst team. The team uses this LMS to run courses such as the one I completed. This lesson gave quick tour of the Pupilfirst LMS.

To sign in, you have multiple options. When you first get started, you'll be visiting Coronasafe Knowledge Base, clicking Sign In, and choosing one of the many options to sign in.

The 3-Tier Panchayat System

 Rural Area

The Panchayat System is a 3-Tier system. There is Grama Panchayat, above which is the Block Panchayat. Above the Block Panchayat is the Zila (District) Panchayat (Parishad).

Urban Areas

The Municipalities (Municipals Councils/Nagar Palika /Nagar Palika Parishad) and Corporations (Municipal Corporations) are the local government in India that administer urban areas with a population of more than 25 thousand and more than 10 lakhs respectively. 

 Health care infrastructure

                     

The public-health care system in India is based on a three-tiered health-care system to provide preventive and curative health care in rural and urban areas. It consists of sub-centres, primary health centres and community health centres.

The Department of Health is divided into two main branches.

The Director of Medical Education is the first branch responsible for the functioning of various medical colleges in the state.

Similarly, an equally efficient branch is Director of Health Services which has multiple levels of hospitals to cater to various levels of population.

The Revenue system functions alongside the Local Self Governments.

REVENUE SYSTEM

   At Panchayat Level, there is the village officer who has authority to collect various taxes within the panchayat and is also the custodian of all land-title records within the panchayat.

At Taluk Level there is a Tahsildar and higher still in the line of hierarchy is the Revenue divisional officer.

The District Collector heads the revenue system within a district in addition to many other administrative responsibilities including that of the District Magistrate.

 

 

 LAW ENFORCEMENT

 The constitution of India delegates the maintenance of law and order primarily to the states and territories. All senior officers in the state police forces and federal agencies are members of the Indian Police Service (IPS)

Division of the state:

Kerala is divided into two police zones, named North Zone and South Zone which are headed by IGPs.

 Women in Police

It is mandatory that each police station has women police officers.

 COORDINATION OF THESE SYSTEMS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS IN KERALA

 Panchayat Level:

Each ward has a ward level team. At Panchayat level, this body is supervised by the Panchayat Monitoring Committee (LSG level monitoring committee), comprising of:-

1) Panchayat President

2) Medical Officer

3) ICDS (Integrated Child Development Scheme) Supervisor

4) CDS Chairperson

 Block Level:

At the block level, we have

1) The Block President

2) Block Medical Officer

3) CDPO (Child Development Program Officer)

[Kudumbashree system does not exist at this level.]

-Tahsildar

-Police

-Assistant. Engineer - KSEB

-Assistant. Engineer - Water authority etc

 District Level:

Similarly, all corresponding officers at a district level form a committee here. There is the Zilla Panchayat President, ICDS district officer, District Medical Officer, Collector, RTO, Water Authority representative, Police etc.

 Municipality and corporation:

 

 Each division again has a Rapid Response Team (RRT) with a Counsellor (instead of a ward member), ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) worker (usually more than 1, depending on the population), Anganwadi Worker and Area Development Society (ADS) by Kudumbashree.

 

 How does the government system deal with Coronavirus spread within a Ward? (Management of suspects)

 It is the Ward level Team which at the face of this calamity is acting as the Rapid Response Team (RRT) that is given the responsibility to enforce this quarantine. If the person has any health issues, the ASHA worker must take action, report the same to higher authorities and get the person health support. If there is any problem faced by a mother and child in quarantine, the Anganwadi worker is the person to tend to it.

 Management of COVID patients

Around 70 % of the patients are asymptomatic. They may be managed with the help of the following systems.

1. TeleHealth Helpline:

2. First-Line Treatment Centres:

 Separating COVID and Non COVID by creating a parallel COVID Healthcare System & utilizing existing Healthcare system for Non COVID patients

 Field Response home care teams:

Decentralization of the existing system to the panchayat and ward level

Categorization of COVID patients and the 3-Tier Healthcare System

Symptomatic patients are sub classified into Mild, Moderate and Severe.

 ACTIVATION OF THESE TREATMENT CENTRES

There are 3 Phases to the way COVID-19 is treated.

Phase 1 is when a panchayat only has 3 or less than 3 cases in a population of 10,000. 

Phase 2 is when any panchayat starts to have more than 3 cases in a population of 10,000. 

Phase 3 is when a Panchayat starts to have more than 10 cases in a population of 10,000. 

 Vaccines

A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease.

 Production of vaccines

On average, it takes between 12-36 months to manufacture a vaccine before it is ready for distribution.

 Post Vaccination in India

Right after getting vaccinated, you are monitored for 30 minutes for any possible Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) before leaving.

AEFI is classified into

 Minor AEFI: Common and self-limiting reactions.

Eg: pain, swelling at site of injection, fever, irritability, tiredness, dizziness and nausea.

 COVID-19: Origin and how it became a Pandemic

 SARS-CoV2 was unknown before the outbreak that started in Wuhan, China in December 2019.

On 11/03/2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 a Pandemic. A pandemic is defined as “an epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries and usually affecting a large number of people”.

 Our Immediate future with COVID-19.

The first step forward is to create a good public awareness regarding COVID-19, safety precautions to be followed, existing facilities that can be utilized and the proposed plan of action for the future.

 Major Challenges during a pandemic

The three key challenges that we should be prepared for during a pandemic are:

1.Uncontrolled spread of the infection:

2.Large volume of patients:

3.Augmenting our Healthcare Infrastructure to meet the load

 

 General Advice

The highest level of care must be taken in preventing the spread of the infection from one individual to the other.

Hand Hygiene

 One must be extremely careful while washing their hands or while using a hand rub.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home Quarantine

Asymptomatic patients are advised to stay at home.

 Proning

 The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India released a set of instructions on April 22, 2021 to aid citizens in breathing.

 How does our government respond during times of disaster?

In the event of any disaster, the decision-making authority must be as decentralized as possible, in order to ensure quick communication and better understanding of the field conditions.

The rural areas are divided into Blocks, Panchayats and Wards.

Introduction

India is prone to a number of disasters. The super cyclone of Odissa(1999),the Gujarat earthquake(2001), the Tsunami(2004) and Kerala floods( 2018,2019) were just a few of the disasters that led to heavy loss of life and left many stranded.

Disaster Management

Disaster Management can be defined as the preparedness, response and recovery methods in order to lessen the impact of disasters. A disaster disrupts the normal function of the society to the extent that it cannot function without outside help.

Prevention Of Natural disasters

·        Vegetative measures

·        Structural Measures

·        Management measures

·        Disaster Preparedness

·        Community Contingency Plan

•                               Prepare
•                             Analyze
•                              Develop
•                           Implement
•                             Review

Disaster Management System within a state

 Every state in the country has a state disaster management authority (SDMA) that is responsible for activities within the state under the Chairmanship of the Chief Minister of the respective states.

§  State Control Rooms

§  State Emergency Operating Centre

§  District Emergency Operations Centre

 Rainfall

 Several states in India witness very heavy rainfall during the months from June to September.

Warning Systems

Initially, Emergency time functions are activated by SEOC and DEOC.

Landslides

 Landslides are caused by rain, earthquakes or other factors that make the slope unstable. They are of four types - fall and toppling, slides (rotational and translational), flows and creep.

Warning systems

Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issues 'Very Heavy Rainfall Warning' when two days of cumulative rainfall exceeds 8 cm in a rain station, landslide warning is issued to the respective districts.

Flood

Floods are the most common natural disaster in India. Several states have been affected over the years by heavy floods. Recent examples include 2015 Gujarat floods and 2018-19 Kerala floods.

 Warning systems

Initially, Emergency time functions are activated by SEOC and DEOC.

Flood Preparedness

If each one of us is better involved in the process of preparedness, creation of awareness and the working of skilled emergency response teams, we can reduce loss of life and minimize human suffering.

 Man-made Disasters

Disasters that are caused by human beings are called man-made disasters. Examples are nuclear bombs, transportation accidents etc.

§  Nuclear Weapons

§  Biological Weapons

§  Chemical Weapons

§  Petrochemical Transportation Accidents

§  Warning Systems

Cyclones

Cyclones account for 30% of the total occurrences of disasters in India. The Odissa super-cyclone in 1999 had a wind speed of 260-300 km/h and killed thousands.

Why are relief camps important?

 Introduction

Setting up and managing camps is one of the most challenging tasks when a disaster occurs. They are indispensable and require proper planning and execution. The process is dynamic in nature. The camps need to be constructed such that the physical, emotional, cultural and social well-being of the camp inhabitants are ensured.

Location

The site should not be vulnerable to natural disasters like landslides, earthquakes etc. Preferably accessible by motor vehicles

Relief camps are necessary to provide the following for the victims -

§  Shelter

§  General administration of the camp

§  Management of the camp

§  Basic Facilities

§  Lighting Arrangement and Generator Set

§  Water Facilities

§  Sanitation

§  Food and clothing

§  Medical Facilities & Psycho-social Support

§  Security

Briefly, these are the following steps involved in Setting up a FLTC:

1.     Identifying a suitable building

2.     Procurement of goods

3.     Setting up of Doffing & donning areas

4.     Creating partition and laying of beds

5.     Prepping of washrooms, drinking water facility, recreational area

6.     Setting up of the nursing station

7.     Demarking and sealing isolation area

8.     Setting up of administrative area

9.     Identifying the staff and training them

What is a First Line Treatment Centre:

  First-Line Treatment Centre (FLTC) is a facility where the most mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic COVID patients are treated. 70-80% of COVID patients are asymptomatic and only exhibit mild symptoms.

 

 How to identify a building to be converted to a FLTC?

The building identified to be converted into a FLTC must have the following facilities:

Facility Layout

A. RECEPTION AREA

B. COVID CARE AREA

C. ISOLATION AREA: This is for the staff to wear personal protective equipment (PPE). 

E. DOFFING AREA: This is for the staff to safely remove PPE to safely dispose of them later.

 

§  Circulation Flow

§  Inflow and outflow of patient

§  Inflow and outflow of Staff

§  Flow of stock and consumables

§  Data Management within an FLTC

Data Management may be done through any hospital/patient management software.

 instance, FLTC's in Ernakulam district of Kerala uses CARE as patient management tool. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Man power recruitment and management

FLTC with 25 beds must have the following staff:

1 Doctor on call available 24 hours

6 Nurses (2 nurses working in 8 hours shifts)

6 Cleaning Staff (2 Staff working in 8 hours shifts)

3 Data Entry personnel (1 Staff working in 8 hours shifts)

1 Administrative head (Nodal person)

1 Information Officer (the contact person for families of the patients)

How can an individual contribute?

Every individual can contribute in various ways by innovating or finding solutions to fill the lacuna or sufficiency of the existing systems at the grass-root level of a community

You can contribute in three ways.

o   Cooperate

o   Communicate

o   Contribute

o    How can you Supplement the efforts of the government?

There are various existing government programs for poverty alleviation, generating employment for the unemployed etc. A few of these programs are listed below:

Ashraya:

The existing schemes which are considered under the project are:

Land for house construction for the homeless by Grama Panchayat

House under Indira Awas Yojana (IAY)

Electrification through Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana

Drinking water through the special scheme of Kerala Water Authority (KWA) covering BPL families etc.

How can you contribute?

Employment Guarantee:

This has been one of the flagship schemes and includes programs under NREGA.

Examples of contributions: To demonstrate this they had linked a vedio of individuals who actively participated in volunteering in relief camps. This was to encourage other individuals to volunteer the same way.

 Empowering Students to Learn Disaster Management:

The intention of giving this training was to empower and train students by teaching us the needs for individual to volunteer during pandemics or disasters when they occur in the nation.